Not me Monday

Oops, I can't ever seem to do these on the right day! lol.

Alright, here we go...

I did NOT let my kids go out into the snow on Wednesday with NO gloves on their little fingers. That would be mean and cruel punishment to then take photos of the said crime and giggled at their faces when they realized that snow is cold and wet, nothing they expected from watching cartoons with snow all these years.

I did NOT let my husband plow me over in the snow twice... okay I really didn't let him, that man is FAST in snow!

I did NOT let my kids veg out on movies all week while we were stuck in our house. That is bad for their brains after all...

See, not so bad this week.

Husband Tag

Alright, this is "husband tag" but I thought I'd do it for him because, well, I'm bored. Ha!

5 Things RAY loves:
Me
the kids
the gospel
his new car (lol)
his laptop

5 Things on his to do list:
Take out the boxes from the Christmas decorations... still...
Our nephew's birthday party
Go to a party with his friends from highschool he hasn't seen in forever
make cookies with the kids
wait for santa


5 Snacks he loves:
Goldfish
Popcorn
Swedish Fish
Cheese
pretzels (pretty easy list really)

5 things you may not know about him:
He can play a variety of different instruments but his main is oboe
He loves the Lakers
He runs through the house hollering more than the children sometimes! (He's getting them to chase him)
He is a math geek (oops, did you know that already?)
He *loves* a good sauna

5 Places he has lived:
West Covina
Hesperia
Finland (brrr)
Fullerton
Baldy Mesa

5 Quirky things about him:
He does this strange dance... makes me laugh every time
He always uses this mug/stein from Germany for his water
He can drink doctor pepper any time of day and sleep all night (I get wired, I don't know how he does this)
He has always been able to get the kids to sleep faster than I do, it's magic I tell you
He is the most charming guy I know...

5 People I want to tag (Marcy is so sneaky!)
1. Shelly
2. Natalie
3. Kasey
4. Jill
5. Karen

Snowed in... day 2

Okay, so honestly I've never seen snow like this and didn't know what to expect. When people say they're snowed in I laugh at them... until now. I will never laugh again. :) We did get out today but it was so scary, my sister let us borrow her 4 wheel drive SUV so we could get to the store and it was an adventure for sure! Even the parking lot at Target was crazy, cars were finding random spots to just get their cars stopped and hiking in and you know all the scarves/hats/boots were GONE. It was so funny. Anyways, the kids enjoyed the snow a LOT more today and it didn't seem to disapear all that much today surprisingly... it's going to take a few days it seems.. (hey, no laughing, we're used to snow that is gone a few hours after it stops!) By the way, Ariana loved the snow so much she wanted to try to get frozen to death (poor girl needs snow-boots pretty badly) and Alex won't touch it as much... Camden hates it and cried when he sat in it on the porch poor thing. Ray enjoyed it too though, he tackled me a few times in the snow (snow all up my shirt... yikes!) Stinker... overall it was fun and Catherine even got some photos for us! Hope we don't bore you... oh and we found Ariana's gloves after all so that was MUCH nicer.

Oh and by the way, the big Christmas party I was in charge of this Saturday for the ward is now cancelled! Ugh! We had a feeling it would happen, for good reason. I think it's for the best... except Jill now has 6 turkeys and 4 hams and 30 lbs of potatos at her house! lol. We are aiming to have a family dinner on January 10th for the ward and just making it a Winter Party instead. That does mean no Santa though, I'm really dissapointed...

The house was hot and the temperature, well... not so much... lol.

Aunt Catherine stood with Camden for a while but he still wouldn't touch it... he's on the back patio looking at it (standing in a little bit) and that's all he wanted. He didn't want to wear gloves by the way...



See, gloves are magic!!!

Ray tackled me...twice... like I could get away or something! He's fast in the snow!!! Something about Finland for 2 years or something...lol He's a butt sometimes...



See, I forgive him... aww...

See, she's crazy! She started venturing out on her own and sinking further into the snow... she was so soaked when we got her in... ouchie! Hey, it was fun though! Thankfully she was light, she didn't sink to the bottom...


Can't forget Alex now! He did come out eventually but didn't like sinking in... can't blame him..

Snow day... gone crazy!

Well for those who somehow missed what is going on here in California (lol) it's gone crazy! I keep hearing different inch levels but let's just say it's crazy with SNOW here... totally unusual and unexpected for sure. I've lived here for many years and it's been a very long time since we had a big snow day, and I don't think I've gotten a foot and a half before... my poor kids were getting lost in it and didn't want to go out anymore despite Ariana's begging for snow previously. Go figure!

It started out like this by 9 this morning or so... we were really excited I mean, it's snow right? Just wait...



This is what we had by this evening... and it was still coming down but I got tired of taking photos... lol. Definitely snowed in today... not going anywhere because, well, we have a huge driveway. By the way, has anyone seen our puppy? She dissapeared when it looked like my above photo and shoot, the big dog's tummy is hitting the top of the snow and he's huge! I don't think Darby would last in this snow, it's too high... I'm worried about her but hope someone nice found her before it dumped and took her in for a while... hope...

I lied, one last photo before bed... we can't even see Ray's car... it's a white blob.

So this was a weird day... and Ariana... she prefers to look at snow in cartoons thank you very much! lol.

I need to buy this girl some GLOVES!!!

A whole minute later Alex ran back into the house... stinker...

Camden's verdict? Next time give me gloves because I'm not touching this stuff. Get me out of here dad!

Nope, not me!

Well I am a stalker follower of a blog HERE online that I truly love, she's so darn funny and the cutest family. I started following this one when she was uncertain if the newest baby was going to survive and, miraculously, was born with no complications that he had previously. Miracle for sure! Anyways, she has this "not me" Mondays thing and darn if it's the funniest thing ever. Now I KNOW it's Thursday and I'm way off but hang in there, I'll be done in a few minutes. I just had to share mine.

This week I did NOT accidentally put my 4 1/2 year old in the baby high chair for breakfast. Nope, I wouldn't be distracted enough to pour him a dry bowl of cheerios, plop it in the highchair, and grab the first blond kid who ran by in blue dinosaur pajamas that morning. I only realized after he started laughing at me that it was in fact the said 4 1/2 year old which explained why he was so tall when I put him in. Oops! Their heads are the same size is my only argument.

I did NOT spend 2 hours finally folding the mountain of laundry that's waited over a week on my family room couch... and no it's not always there... just most of the time. I swear I can't get ahead of the darn laundry and I think I folded 100 socks or so. Ick.

I did NOT let my kids pull out every box of toys they own and let them throw them all over the kitchen floor today. I also didn't let Alex proceed to dump a glass of water on the floor (well, I really didn't let him... he did this on his own). I also didn't take a picture of this mess and vow that when their daddy gets home HE can deal with it and make them clean it up. I'm tired of being a maid... oh wait, I wasn't supposed to admit that!

I did NOT make Alex wear underwear today despite the fact that I know he will pee/poo in them whether he's in diapers or not. Actually, I did... I am really tired of him not being trained yet. (By the way, he really just does NOT get it and this frustrates me).

I did NOT almost kill my oldest two when they got into Camden's crib during naptime yesterday... while he was sleeping... and woke him up.... screaming... poor baby. I was so angry.

I did NOT try to butterfly a boo-boo on Camden's head in hope that it would stop bleeding so I wouldn't have to go to ER and get stitches. Not me, that would be silly.... by the way it stopped finally... ick.

Well those are a few of my "I did NOT"'s for the week.

Funny story by the way, today I was sitting in the bathroom with my three kids (Ariana was going potty but apparently we needed an impromptu party in the bathroom this morning...) Anyways, Camden stepped on my foot and I said "ouch" of course. Here's our conversation.

Me: "Ouch, Camden that hurts"

Alex: "Are you okay mom?"

Me: "No honey, Camden hurt my toe"

Alex: "It's okay Mom... just take deep breaths... in (breathes in) and out (breathes out)."

Me: ((Laughing))

*This is what Ray and I do to get him to breath when he's upset and crying or wants to hurt someone... he's never used it on US though...*

Photos???

So we tried to get some family photos tonight for the Christmas photo... none were the ideal photo but then the baby was sucking his fingers and Alex was not paying any attention!!!

This one was cute though! And look, it's Ray and I... granted his chin is chopped off but I like it.

This is probably the one I will still use though... I really want a family photo. What would you do? I also thought about the goofy one along with some nice ones of the kids on a card...

Ouch!

Goodness what a night. So Camden decided to see if he could try to get himself a concussion or something... what the heck! Catherine and I were in my room with the kids (and I use that term loosely, I was in the kitchen which is next to my room and Alex and Ariana were playing in my room... they like the mirrored closet doors. Camden was simply following them and Catherine was "supervising"). Anyways, I have this big twin headboard on the wall in my room waiting to go back on Alex's bed. (We had taken his bed apart as a threat a month ago because he was taking the mattress off the bed every day, made me nuts and I didn't know what to do). Whew, this is getting long. lol. Anyways, it's real wood and stinking heavy! It was leaning on the wall in my room. Suddenly, all I see is this headboard falling over and Camden is laying, on his tummy, underneath the monster headboard screaming. We raced to get this thing off him, did I mention how heavy it is? My sister scooped him up and he came to me... well as soon as he turned his head to me I see this *nasty* gash in his forehead. I mean "holy crap, that may need stitches" kind of gash. Weird thing, he was on his stomach.

We have decided what happened was he was playing with the headboard and it conked him on the head. He panicked and pushed it back on the wall. It of course was falling again and as he turned to run from it the darn thing fell over completely and took my 15 month old baby down with it. Big ouch!

Thankfully he acted okay, after he calmed down I bathed him. The wound didn't ever gush a ton but it didn't ever actually *stop* bleeding. I definitely needed a bandaid but at 15 months you try to keep a bandaid on their head! Daddy finally got home a few hours later and we butterfly bandaged the wound. (We had to swaddle his arms down and I held his head, this kid is strong!!) I'll show you photos tomorrow, poor guy is going to black and blue for a while. He had wounds all down the back of his head, big eggs on the side of his head, he was a mess last night. We were supposed to do family photos on Saturday, maybe he can wear a hat? roflol.

Oh and by the way, cute story to end the night. Today we saw Santa at the mall and Alex was *SO* excited!!! We stood in line and waited and Alex couldn't wait to sit in his lap and talk to him. (We may have to visit a few times this year). I told Alex "sweetie, tell Santa what you want for Christmas" since his siblings wouldn't go near Santa. Alex smiled and said "I want Baby Jesus for Christmas". Let me explain; he's on a "I love baby Jesus" kick ever since we told them the real meaning of Christmas. He wants to hold the tiny one from the nativity but we have shown him that his baby doll can be wrapped and look like one too. He's so cute, he hugged the doll and told me "Jesus is my best friend". (Everyone is Alex's best friend lately, it's a riot). I think I about passed out when he announced that he wanted baby Jesus for Christmas, first of all it was so unexpected and secondly I didn't want those mall workers to think I was some looney! lol.

So that's my tears and laughs for today. Off to bed!

Is this week OVER???

Ugh, what a week. Looks like our new darling puppy has pneumonia! Nice huh? She was supposed to stay at the vet hospital all weekend and charge us over $1,000 (yikes) but we opted to get medicine from them and check her out early. I know it's probably not a smart idea but we just can't fork over that money on a new puppy... I felt so guilty. Now she's in our laundry room on medicine, a humidifier, and praying that she gets through this. Had to update on this horrible week we've had. That's what I get for getting a new dog I guess... lol.

Crazy week

Well for those who know our dog Abby, she's gone forever. We have tried everything we can do and she's not come home... we don't know where she is. If she is dead I hope that it went quickly for her... it breaks my heart really. Her friend Rusty, our other dog, is depressed and sad. We went to the pound though and found a new dog to chear him up, that hasn't gone so well. It's a 4 month old Lab/russel terrier mix and she's beautiful. She's an awesome puppy, a little jumpy but that's normal for puppies. She's a doll and we're hoping that she and Rusty get used to each other, she was fine the first day and Rusty has her scared now so we're working on that. Either way she's here to stay.

Also Ray's car died on us on Tuesday. We were really angry, we just paid a ton of money to get this fixed! We had it towed yesterday but we decided it wasn't worth fixing it again and bought Ray a new car on Wednesday. It's a 2005 Toyota Corolla and so shiny! lol. Not something we should have done but we have it figured out and he needs a good commuter car going to Cal State all the time. Ironically we looked at the car yesterday and found the radiator cap had broken and that was the cause of the over-heating car! Grr... so now we have a car for sale.

Here is Rusty, he is so sad! (Ignore the trash behind his ear, he pulled that container from the trash that day... booger).

Our new baby girl Darby! She's really cute and we hope she's happy here. Rusty needs to warm up to her... big bruiser!

So that's been our week, lots of "new" things around here. We had a great Thanksgiving by the way. :)

My dog is missing

I am so sad tonight, our doggy is gone! Her name is Abby and we've had her almost 6 1/2 years. We actually bought her when we were still in our apartment waiting to get into our new house (it always takes longer than expected to close on a house but being a first time owner we didn't know this). We had to hide her in the apartment for 2 weeks or so, and this wasn't so easy being a 8 month old German Shepard/Border Collie mix. Oops! She's been our baby when we couldn't have any, we love that dog so much. She is smart as can be and was always getting into trouble because no matter what we did she would get out of the fence... too smart for her own good. She was the mom of the house and took care of all of us. Unfortunately Friday or so she dissapeared, we're not sure where she is. Her buddy Rusty, our other dog, misses her terribly. He's hearbroken and it kills me. I hate not knowing where she went, if she's hurt or if she's dead even. I hope she's not scared wherever she is. We are going to head over to the pound tomorrow and check that she's not there (they told us they don't have her but I have to at least try). Had to share my sad story tonight, I never thought I'd be a dog person and here I am missing her badly. If she doesn't come home we're going to go find another one from the shelter for Rusty to have with him, he hates this so much.

Primary Program

Alright, so I almost forgot about Alex's first Primary Program! lol. It was this last Sunday and he was nervous to go up but gosh did he do well. His teacher came and got him to go up after sacrament and he did perfectly for her. He sang along (well, you know how 4 year olds sing the primary songs). He had a line "I love my family" and did really well, you could tell he was proud of himself and for a kid who is in speech it was more clear than we thought it might be. He also walked around the chapel when they wanted him to holding up a picture of the prophet as proud as could be. (He loves the spotlight apparently). Then during one of the songs he actually got up by the mike and started singing loudly... oops! They caught him and got him down quickly (he wasn't even singing the words...) but it had us all giggling. There is always one right? He was excited the rest of the day because he knew we were proud of him. We were of course the giggly first time parents, proud of our 4 year old up on the stand. (I used to laugh at those parents by the way!)

WE HAVE A DIETICIAN!!!

Okay, what a long battle this has been. I'm still cautiously optimisitic and hoping for the best... so many doctors have let us down. We have a new pediatrician (again) and she was shocked no one had tried to help! Within 5 days from our first meeting we've seen her twice, had a round of bloodwork done today, and even have a referral to a dietician in the works. Praying this works! He did SO well today too. They did a tb test and he didn't even flinch. They took 6 vials of blood and he watched interested, didn't say a thing! We're going to have to get clearance with the insurance for the dietician but darn if I can wait a few weeks for that, we've waited 4 1/2 years already! . The prayers from family and friends have worked lately and we're finally feeling on the right track. Thank heavens! Thanks for the support and love!

Cool Cooking Blogs

Alright, I have a few favorite cooking blogs and gosh do these women make me laugh and wish that I could cook better. :) Thought I'd share my cool finds... I know I have a bunch but here are two for you today.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/

Photos

Alright, so I never did get any Halloween photos up from the actual night. For those wondering about Ariana's Halloween costume, well, we knew she would change her mind. She's always done that and heaven forbid it change! Originally she wanted to be Tinkerbell. Then it changed to a Princess when we told her we were going to a family dance that night... Her logic was "I have to dress up as a princess because only princesses can go to dances and dance with my brother Alex". Aww... really cute. Well mommy found yet another costume on sale and bought it for her on Halloween, I really did mean to save it for Christmas but darn if she saw the bag when I got home. She of course got her way and was the cutest ballerina at the party. :) Here is Ariana and mommy ready to go. (I was in charge so I figured I'd better dress up right?) Look how smug she is... (she just didn't want to take pictures anymore).



Here are some other really cool photos I took outside lately, figured I'd do it before it got too cold for it!



Look at these awesome tights Ariana wears all the time now. I thought this was the funniest photo!

Halloween Costumes

Alright, so I'm in charge of the Halloween party for Oak Hills/Phelan ward this year (along with their leader Wendy Demke) and I don't know how many photos I will actually get that night. That being said I did a "photo shoot" with the kids to capture the costumes so I wanted to share. Heavens knows I may not have many from Friday. :)

Here is Mr. Incredible... ironically the skinniest kid I know wanted to have huge muscles. (And no, we can't stop laughing when he wears that costume). So cute! (We're going to fix the "bottom" of the costume before Friday, it's a little saggy... lol).

Ariana is Tinkerbell this year... unless she changes last minute to one of the Princesses from her dress up box. (lol).

This was the most recent time I tried photos... nothing better than a pouting Tinkerbell. lol. (She's mad that Camden won't wear his hat in this photo).

Camden is a teeny knight... cutest costume ever!

((Grumble)) Doctor appointment today

For those who don't know we had an appointment with specialists today because I really was hoping they'd help us figure out how to help Alex. He needs OT (occupational therapy) again and he also needs to see a dietitian who might have ideas for a crazy mom. Well, to say it went badly is an understatement.

First of all the appointment was canceled because we had the wrong insurance (they thought we were still on "state aid" insurance which we haven't been for over 2 1/2 years.) That's understandable, we had that when the surgery was done. I called, complained, and the appointment was "back on" for today.

I was so excited, hubby took the day off from work and everything for this darn appointment. We got there with plenty of time and as they were measuring/taking weight they dropped the bomb on our lap.

See, apparently with our HMO we have to have authorization not just for the team but have to have *each* of the doctors we need to see authorized. We had no idea and had jumped through several hoops and had waited months just for *this* appointment. She said we had to choose which doctor we wanted... we chose the pediatrician because maybe he could get us information we needed.

We waited fir a while and the *surgeon* who did the cleft repair came in to see us. She was thrilled and said that the pediatrician had given her the go-ahead and felt it was more important. I was crushed... absolutely crushed that my choices were ignored.

2 minutes later we were told we were going to have to leave because our "one doctor" quota was up (so to speak). We were there for no longer than 2 minutes. Good news is that his cleft repaired nicely. Bad news was I didn't see any of the specialists I had wanted.

I refuse to go back... it does me no good now. They don't have a nutritionsit like I had thought and any other help I need I am positive I can find with the right pediatrician. As soon as we were home I got online and changed the pediatrician once again. This kills me but I really need one who will look at our concerns as valid. I actually chose a woman this time, something I've not done before. This particular one is supposed to be really good (reputation is that she works with a lot of kids with needs.) Just never thought we could get in until now...

So crossing my fingers this finally gets someone's attention. I feel like I have been working for years and NO ONE has helped me. Not one darn doctor. It's devestating... they know he's too small but it's not something I know how to help anymore. He's 25 lbs and 39 inches at 4 1/2 years old. We do the darnedest most we can and I am determined to keep screaming for help until someone listens. This is our 5th pediatrician in the last 2 years by the way. (Grumble).

Thanks for the support and for listening. I'm so grateful I have other moms who don't think I've lost my mind.

Crazy old photos

I was looking through my old photos tonight, hoping to get some inspiration for scrapbooking or something, and found a few crazy ones. Here is what Alex's cleft looked like for anyone who has never seen a cleft in the soft pallet. See how his mouth has a gaping hole in the back there? He doesn't have an uvula and that was the part that was repaired with surgery in 2006. And yes, food and drinks came out of his nose when he ate. It was really a pain...



Here it is several hours after the surgery. It took him a long time to wake up and cheer up (go figure... it took a while for the surgery!) Here he is being so sweet despite the obvious hospital around him (he had to spend the night... it was awful). Ironically 2 days after coming home he wanted to drink with straws and eat chips. Hello!!!

Look how cute he looked... okay, so he shouldn't have gone through this but at least after the terror of the first few hours of him waking up screaming this was a much happier kid. (It was a nightmare that I don't want to ever re-live). The arm braces were so he couldn't put anything in his mouth by the way, they were the smallest ones and *way* too big for him so he didn't wear them much.

Alright, I'd play "guess the kid" but hello, we only have one girl! lol. This is definitely Ariana, at 1 year, when her hair was finally getting thicker. SO funny. Camden definitely can't deny his sister is related by the way, look at that! By the way, look at my gorgeous cupboards! (laughing evilly). I did paint them and I thought they were *awesome* in that teeny kitchen we had. Glad we don't own that house anymore though.



Ha ha... funny photo of Camden for you tonight. Not his best photo but heck it was funny. Any time you flip the viewer of the camera around and he sees himself, well, this is what we get... booger and all. Man I'm cracking up over here, got to lay off that candy. :)

Survey about hubby

On a SAHM board I'm on we were asked these questions... since I took the time to fill it out I thought I'd share them. :)

How and where did you meet your hubby? What were your first thoughts when you met him? What attracted you to him?

Okay, we met on a blind date *but* I met him before that, he just doesn't remember. (The first time I met him I said "no way I'm going out with him" and almost called and canceled the date... lol). I definitely wasn't prepared to be attracted to him. We went mini-golfing and had a ton of fun. We didn't date for a while though so it wasn't instant love or anything crazy, just friendship at first.

Where did you go and what did you do on your first date?

Like I said, we played mini-golf at Scandia.

How long did you date before he proposed?

We dated 2 months before he proposed!

Tell us about his proposal to you.

Not much to tell. lol. He kept hinting at it and I was panicked. He did throw it out there so to speak and I told him don't ask me just now, I wasn't sure. That night I finally felt that it was right but didn't see him for a few days so had to wait and tell him that next week (it felt like forever). We did have him ask my dad for permission and didn't tell him we'd already agreed to be married (secret engagement, that was kind of fun). We finally made it "official" by buying some flowers that night (at Wal-Mart, of all places, it was the only store with flowers at 7:30 on a Tuesday night where we live!) He asked me to marry him in the car at the church parking lot. lol. So romantic (lol) but oh well. :)

What was your wedding like? Did everything go according to plan? Did either of you cry? How big was your wedding, and who stood in for you (bridesmaids/groomsmen)?

Gosh, our wedding was amazing. We were married in our temple and words can't explain how absolutely gorgeous it was. Yes, we both cried (especially after when we hugged friends and family who came). After we took pictures and then had the reception that evening, which was very big and so amazingly gorgeous. We had an enormous wedding line, it really was big. (I think I had 2 maids of honor, 5 bridesmaids, 2 jounior bridesmaids, 1 flower girl, 2 best men, 4 groomsmen, 1 ring-barer). It was nuts but we really enjoyed it!

What did you do for your rehearsal dinner?

We hosted it the week before and it was at the RainForest Cafe... it was a lot of fun!

Where did you honeymoon and what did you see and do there?

Do there? Hmm... that's a really funny question. We actually bought passes to Disneyland (we lived a few minutes away from it at that time) and would just hop over there several times a week. That was a total blast!!!

How and when did you know he was "the one?"

I think it was the night he "almost" proposed... well, sometime in there. See, he was the only guy I'd ever dated and I was worried that I was making a mistake and jumping into it too quickly. I wrote him an email and explained that, but after I sent it I was worried he'd think I was breaking up with him! I was crying all day, worried about seeing him that night. When I finally did he was surprised and said he'd not understood half of what I'd said in the darn email. (roflol). Duh! I think that was when I realized I really didn't want to lose him.

What is your "song," if you have one?

We have 2 songs actually. One is by AirSupply- that song "Two less lonely people" and the other was the one we danced to... Christina Aguelera's "I Turn to you"

Back to school and naughty kids

Well for those who don't know Ray is continuing with school and going for his Masters in Math Education (yes, I know... he is a Math geek and loves it). Sigh. He finally finished his credentialing this Spring but we figured since we were already going full force, and because Masters will give him a higher pay scale, we needed to keep pushing on with this. So he's once again going to college in the evenings meaning I am lonely and sad (lol). Honestly though, my sister is living with us now and that really helps out when she's not working. It's just hard to have him back at Cal State after having such a nice summer together.

We're doing good, staying busy trying to get Alex into preschool (eek). He's not potty trained so that's been hard to find somewhere but we finally have and are waiting for a spot to be open for him. It's nerve wracking for me of course but he would do so well with the social interaction.

By the way, Ariana is now several inches taller than her brother. It's so weird to see them side by side because, well, she definitely doesn't look like a 3 year old. She gets it from both sides of the family but I like to think it's more from me... I was always a whole head taller than most kids my age (my sister and I were always told we were in the wrong grade at the beginning of the year). We just grow tall kids! :) Alex is tall for his weight... we have to give him something. lol.

See, she's taller! By the way, she dressed herself that day (lol) and Alex is playing with a doll... a Cinderella doll... and no that doesn't bother me. :)

Oh, and the boys are now in a very boring room. Alex climbed into Camden's crib during naptime recently and helped him *rip off* the wallpaper border I had so carefully hung in there a year and a half ago. I was shocked to come in and hear *rip* followed by giggling and "good job Camden". Ugh. I did take pictures, just like any good mom would, and then with Alex and Ariana's help ripped it off the rest of the room (it was too late to save any of the pretty paper). So now they have a boring green room... too bad for them. I just keep waiting for them to rip down Ariana's. (By the way, it's one of the few rooms in the house with borders. I don't tend to like them but they were easy enough to change later so we went with those).

Camden kept giggling and saying "cheese" to the camera... that's why he looks so crazy here... and yes he had just finished dinner

Yes, those are spaggeti handprints thanks to Alex who eats that stuff *all day* (ick)

There is a funny video that goes with this photo... maybe I'll attach it... and yes she really is taller than him

The evidence...

8 years

8 years ago today was the day that I married my sweetheart. I definitely can believe it's been 8 years, we've been through a lot together, but then I also can't believe time has passed so quickly. In the last 8 years we've survived

* Lived in a studio apartment for 10 months (teeny, it was a hotel room converted, the walls were thin, and we were on the staircase of the busy stairs... our apartment always shook).
* Lived in a small 1 bedroom apartment for 10 months or so
* Bought our first house for my 21st birthday :) (lived there 4 1/2 years)
* Struggled with infertility
* Spent many nights crying in Ray's arms about wanting a child
* Driven 7 cars... been in 3 car accidents together, all male drivers and none our fault (2 semi-serious... the cars were totaled)
* 3 pregnancies
* 1 premature birth and NICU stay
* 2 amazingly normal births
* 1 surgery of a cleft pallet
* 2 seizures and praying our son wouldn't die in our arms
* 8 years of school (and still going... he's started his Masters degree)
* Being jobless
* 3 years of teaching
* Many laughs
* Dozens of bouquets of roses
* Standing by each other as equal partners despite opposition that wants to tear us apart
* 1 grandmother's untimely death
* Countless priesthood blessings for comfort or healing

I'm sure the list could keep growing to include me keeping a few lbs on after pregnancy, Ray and his gimp knee from basketball so many years ago, and even crazy looney family members who are determined to make our lives miserable (his family). None of that really matters though...

What matters is I'm married to such a wonderful man. He works so hard for our family and tries to provide us with what we need. He works hard so hard for us so that I can be a stay-at-home mother and take care of the needs of our children. He takes care of us and loves me so much... sometimes it amazes me that he can put up with some of the trials we have but he comes through them so well. He is a rock, he is the one who holds strong when I'm ready to fall apart. He is the priesthood holder of our family and takes that responsibility seriously, I'm grateful for that. He is my best friend and I have no doubt we were meant to be together and have the children we have. I am so grateful he's given me the gift of a forever family and I love him so much. Happy Anniversary honey!

Our engagement photo (hey, no laughing! lol)



8 years later and happy as can be (sorry, we don't seem to have any of just the 2 of us but I like it that way... lol)

Vent about contest

I'm so annoyed. I was in a contest for scrap-kit makers and I swear these contestants cheated! We were given a color pallete and told to make a vintage scrapkit with it. Mine turned out beautiful if I do say so myself. Well a few people took it and made a PINK color with it when there was not even a light pink in the freaking thing. I think they cheated and am really pissed about it but hey, if they have to cheat to win then I don't want to work with them anyways. Oh well right? Had to vent...

Vent about contest

I'm so annoyed. I was in a contest for scrap-kit makers and I swear these contestants cheated! We were given a color pallete and told to make a vintage scrapkit with it. Mine turned out beautiful if I do say so myself. Well a few people took it and made a PINK color with it when there was not even a light pink in the freaking thing. I think they cheated and am really pissed about it but hey, if they have to cheat to win then I don't want to work with them anyways. Oh well right? Had to vent...

Busy but good

Things are busy here but we're doing well. I have started selling my digital scrapkits and gosh, made some nice money in the last 2 weeks or so (shocked the heck out of me). I don't think it will last but I'm not relying on it as an income but rather some play money so heck, keeping that going! We recently went to a Stake Festival celebrating the Pioneers who settled in San Bernardino so many years ago, not the most fun ever but the kids enjoyed it and I loved watching them have fun. (We were cold the first night and sweating like crazy on Saturday... go figure). Jill harassed me for not blogging lately so here I am. :)

By the way, for those wondering we do want another baby and have started trying to get pregnant. I am not telling you this so you can call me once a month to ask how it's going with that, we all know that my body is finicky and won't always do what it's supposed to. It's in the Lord's hands and we are patient... for now. (laughing). We really have our hands full anyways right?

The kids are good, Alex is doing well in Speech and we're working on enrolling him in Preschool. It scares me to death but I think it's extremely important before he's old enough for Kindergarten so we're trying. Problem is he's not potty trained yet (yes, 4 1/2 and no, it's not my fault although I blame myself a lot). He's just been through a lot, not sure why it's not there but when he does it finally it will be in his time and not from a lack of mommy trying.

Ariana is great too, although she's fighting me on the same issue (not potty trained). She's been really loving and a total bossy girl lately, wants to be the mommy and has started calling Alex her younger brother because he's gotten shorter than her, even though he is in fact older. He gets mad, they both fight over the "biggest sibling" spot. (sigh). They do get along great though, don't get me wrong. She's excited about wanting another baby (not sure where she got that idea) and wants a girl in mommy's tummy right now. Goober.

Camden is walking better every day, today he was practicing like crazy. He still crawls like a Spider monkey though and even can crawl sideways like that. It's the fastest thing I've ever seen, I've really got to post a video of it because it makes me giggle and I know he won't do it much longer.

Ray and I are great too, he's enjoying work this year and staying busy with that and running a club after school. Catherine is living here now and working hard to pay her bills, we're proud of her and the kids are really eating it up that she's here.

Well here are a few photos for you. :)

Here are my kids having an orange juice break... same thing every morning...

Camden my Spider monkey... yes... this is how he really crawls...

School is in... no wait... this is a fake school house

Alex and his cousin Dennis... the only boy cousin they have of the 9 cousins

Ray and Ariana making rag dolls... notice she's not even looking... lol.

**Ooh, I found a really funny video of Camden**

Does my blog size seem off?

Okay no laughing but Camden was on my lap and did something to my blog I swear it... whenever I view it at the address it seems shrunk. Anyone else need glasses to read it? That kid... I swear... off to see if I can do something about it...

*Okay, it's only when I am on my blog editing? Sheesh, this is annoying. lol. Oh well, glad no one else sees it!

Does my blog size seem off?

Okay no laughing but Camden was on my lap and did something to my blog I swear it... whenever I view it at the address it seems shrunk. Anyone else need glasses to read it? That kid... I swear... off to see if I can do something about it...

I'm in the designer spotlight!

Well I am the designer spotlight right now at Scrappin Out loud and thought I'd toot my own horn.

Designer Spotlight

For anyone who didn't know I do make scrapkits for digital scrapbooking. I sometimes offer freebies on my sister website so feel free to check that out too... and no I'm not advertising to my friends here. lol

I'm in the designer spotlight!

Well I am the designer spotlight right now at Scrappin Out loud and thought I'd toot my own horn.

Designer Spotlight

Go check it out... don't be afraid of my photo though. roflol. Not my favorite picture but heck, when do I ever get one of myself without kids? lol.

Camden is 1!

Alright, it's finally official and he's 1 already. Shoot! lol. He had his doctor appointment today... 21 lbs (meaning we are okay that we turned his car seat around) and 32 inches long. The doctor is always laughing at how tall he is... 20% for weight and 95% for height. lol. Sheesh, go figure huh? He got three shots and a finger poke and gosh was he mad. He didn't cry, he *screamed*. He cuddled for maybe a minute and then got so mad at me. He started throwing a tantrum, screamed, and hit me!!! I was shocked and boy was he ticked. The doctor came back in (which he never does) cracking up because Camden was cursing at me in baby talk. Ooh boy. When we left he was totally fine though so now we just watch him.

Last night went well by the way, thank you to my family and the Sandbergs for making his party so wonderful. We had a blast, Camden of course most of all. His cake was blue frosting by the way, not my choice but oh goodness. He was a little smurf when we were done, not interested in the cake nearly as muc as the frosting. Yummy!!! Here are some photos of the birthday boy... we really did have fun and have to get together with Kristi, Eric and their adorable (and well behaved!) kids soon.

Oh and new milestones for Camden. He has 6 teeth now and he's so close to walking! He can stand solo and actually took 3 steps to get me last night (aww, he walked on his birthday!) I am beyond thrilled that he's walking on time and am thrilled to have a "text book" baby. lol. He's talking a bunch, mimicking really well and he even says "thank you" when given something. He says "mama, dada, Ana (Ariana), Al for Alex, thank you (tha- you), "I want down" (seriously he does) and no... He also has learned how to give me kisses... when I ask he puckers up and makes kissy noises. Aww... I love this baby boy...